Tag Archives: reflection

Photographs: Mono Lake Basin, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada

Dawn, Mono Lake and Sierra Crest

Image August 3, 2018 G Dan Mitchell 1 Comment

Dawn light on the Sierra crest at South Tufa, Mono Lake

There is a bit of a story behind the choice to post this photograph today. And that story may help explain the posting of more than a few older photographs this month. Every December, like so many other photographers, I prepare a set of “favorite photographs” from the year that is about to conclude. (Something happened this past December and I was delayed in this process. One thing led to another and I never did post my annual set of favorites for 2017!) Part of my process for preparing the list of favorites is to go through ALL of my raw files from the year, and I often discover interesting work that I missed as I engage in this process. I didn’t do that either… so I’m now digging back into the older files to see what I missed. So expect a mixture of current and older work through August and possibly into early September.

To make things a bit more confusing, this photograph is even older! It comes from 2007. Once I get into this process of looking at old files, I never know where it will lead! I made the photograph on a lovely, quiet morning at Mono Lake, when the water was still and the first light was shining on the eastern Sierra Nevada.

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All media © Copyright G Dan Mitchell and others as indicated. Any use requires advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada

Timberline Lake And Reflections

Image August 1, 2018 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

A timberline lake in 20 Lakes Basin reflects the face of a tall granite ridge

This scene gets up close and personal with the crest of the Sierra Nevada, along the boundary country just northeast of Yosemite National Park. The lake is just below the tree line, so the forest here is very sparse and the trees small. Just beyond the lake the terrain becomes so rocky that the trees basically end.

I hiked here early on mid-July morning, starting at dawn and having the trail and this lake almost entirely to myself — at the height of Sierra summer tourist season! (One group did pass by on a nearby trail, but otherwise no one else was there.) The reflections in this lake of the steep and rocky terrain beyond are marvelous, and I considered a square format crop that eliminates the “distracting” sky and peak — and I still may do that!

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All media © Copyright G Dan Mitchell and others as indicated. Any use requires advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada, Photographs: Yosemite

Meadow, Tarn, and Trees

Image July 29, 2018 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Small trees near timberline grow in a meadow surrounding a subalpine tarn

In the Sierra Nevada photographers are nearly always grateful for clouds. There is a reason that these mountains are referred to as the “range of light” — there is a lot of light! In the summer months we often experience many days of perfect blue skies, often without a single cloud in sight, at least if you don’t include jet contrails from the many routes passing above the range. Clouds play a small part in this photograph, but I think they make a difference.

I made the photograph very near Tioga Pass, along the Sierra crest. I rarely photograph in this specific spot since it can be busy place and it is a bit overdone. (I have plenty of work in my archives that I have photographed from right around here.) But on this day the late light, as the sun was just about to pass behind the tall ridge to the west, was both warm and softened by the clearing overcast. So I stopped and wandered briefly into this intimate landscape of trees, meadow, and tarn.

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Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada

Wildflowers, Lake, Peak

Image July 26, 2018 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Paintbrush flowers in the lakeshore meadow of a subalpine lake below the Sierra Nevada crest

This is pretty much a classic Sierra Nevada high country scene, from the zone this is my favorite — the region just below the tree line, where there the landscape is usually open and filled with rocky meadows and lakes and towering peaks. The intimate shorelines of the small high-country lakes and tarns are special, and more than once I’ve managed to spend a significant amount of time simply lounging by them in the middle of the day.

I reached this spot by way of a longer hike around a large lake, starting my walk close to sunrise. One side of the upper end of this lake features open forests, while the other side is an area of meadows and boulders, though which flows the outlet of the smaller lake in this photograph. I arrived by myself and went to work making photographs, mostly of the lake itself and the surrounding alpine scenery. After a while I finishing that work and commenced the serious business of sitting on a large rock and staring for a while. Finally, it was time to start thinking about my return hike, but before I departed I wandered over to this shoreline where these brilliant red flowers had caught my attention.

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G Dan Mitchell Photography

Tag Archives: reflection

Dawn, Mono Lake and Sierra Crest

Timberline Lake And Reflections

Meadow, Tarn, and Trees

Wildflowers, Lake, Peak

Photographer and visual opportunist. Daily photos since 2005, plus articles, reviews, news, and ideas.